


Executive Order

by StarsGarters



Category: The Purge: Election Year (2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Phone Sex, Pining, Secret Crush, Secret family, footrubs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-08-08 20:24:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7771873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarsGarters/pseuds/StarsGarters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The holidays make President Roan sentimental and she has questions for her security chief Leo Barnes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Thank you. Thank you. I’ll see you at the appointment hearing. Yes, thank you.” President Charlie Roan hung up the phone, rubbed her temples and leaned back in her leather chair. She looked up at the Oval Office ceiling and sighed, both in relief that that was the last phone call she had to make that evening and in awe at the architectural splendor around her.

“Somebody pinch me,” she murmured.

“I’d have to break their fingers if they did.” Her head of security quipped from his post beside the door.

“Come on Leo. The proper punishment for pinching the President’s ass is a Congressional inquiry, you know that.” She smiled and drummed her fingernails on the desk that so many great men had used. And a more than a few assholes.“I can’t believe you’re still here. It’s Christmas break.”

“You’re here, so I am.” He crossed his arms. “Once you get to back to your quarters, then I can go.”

President Roan swiveled her chair, took off her shoe and rubbed her toes in the plush carpet. “Where do you go, Leo?”

“Pardon?”

“Where do you go when you’re not my shadow?”

A tight smile. “Need to know basis.”

President Roan slipped off her other shoe and walked over to the liquor table. She poured herself a drink and filled a second tumbler. “Share a drink with me. Come on, it’s Christmas.” She held out the glass.

Leo shook his head. “I’m on duty.”

“If I have to draft an Executive Order to compel you, I will. So much paperwork for a seltzer.” He took the glass and she gestured to the leather couch. He sat down and she joined him. They sipped in silence for a moment, the warmth of the brandy burning down her throat. “There that’s not so bad. So what are your plans for the holidays?”

“Besides keeping you alive? I planned to fly out to LA.” The ice settled in his crystal glass with a faint clink. She looked at his hands as he cradled the drink. Then she glanced up, he was watching her.

A faint flush rose in her cheeks and she took another sip to cover her reaction. “Visiting family?”

“You could say that.”

“You don’t have any family, Leo. Just like me.”

He rested the drink on his thigh. “I’ve got an ex-wife.”

President Roan snorted, “You know what I mean.”

He pursed his thin lips in amusement. “Yeah. I do. There’s the family you’re born with and the family you make.”

President Roan shifted her seat and put her feet in Leo’s lap. He sat his drink on a coaster on the side table. His fingers were cold from the icy drink, but that wasn’t why President Roan shivered. She enjoyed the pressure of his thumbs as they broke down the tension in her feet. She took a sip and the booze made her brave enough to ask, “Am I family, Leo?”

“You’re the biggest pain in the ass in my whole life. Like the little sister I never had.” Leo rolled her big toe in his fingertips.

She tilted back her head and closed her eyes. She wasn’t going to get misty. Instead she said, “Ouch.”

“What? Did I hurt you?” He paused and squinted at her feet, confused.

“Little sister.” She waved her glass in the air and took her feet out of his lap.

His hooded eyes looked away for a moment and he took a sip of his drink. “You want to be older than me? Big sis?”

“So, that’s all I am to you? A job and a surrogate sibling?” Her words were sharper than she’d intended. She blamed that on the drink too.

“President—“ Leo started, but she held up her hand.

“You will call me Charlie if it is the last thing I accomplish in this place. So help me.” She put her hand down and went to refill her drink.

“I thought you knew. You did do a background check on me, researched me. You knew about the Purge Night in LA.” He rested his forearms on his thighs, it wasn’t fair how good he looked in that suit. Rugged and polished at the same time. For a moment she saw him covered in blood, the memory of the final Purge Night and she had to look away.

“Yes. You became a bit of an urban myth, the superhero in the black coat and the armored black car.”

“I got lucky. That’s all.”

“You have skill, not luck.”

“I mean, I was lucky to be out that night. I saved some people, but really—“ He sat back and smiled. “They saved me.”

“Who saved you?” A dagger of jealousy pierced her gut and she took a deep breath. He dug his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled out a photograph. It had soft, worn edges. She sat back on the couch and he pointed at two beautiful women.

“This is Eva and this is her daughter, Cali. Cali’s on scholarship to Stanford.” He beamed as he spoke about the girl, more joy on his craggy face than President Roan had seen since election day. “She’s studying Political Science and International Studies. Wants to be like you and I tell her that she’s got the stubborn part down. Like a mule.” She nudged him with her elbow. “I help her out with expenses, I don’t really need a lot of my salary. Probably get shot before I retire,” President Roan began to protest, but he cut her off,“Oh don’t shake your head at me. It’s more dangerous out there right now for you than it was on Purge Night. And I will protect you.” He declared with fierce intensity.

It was petty, but she said, “You can’t protect me in LA.”

“Hence the reason I’m not going this year.” He was still looking at the photo. She plucked it from his fingers and studied the face of her rival.

“So, this Eva. She’s very pretty.” It was the safe thing to say, but it seemed to unlock Leo’s carefully cultivated facade of seriousness. 

“Yeah. She is. The first time I saw them they were getting dragged out from their apartment by their hair for execution by Founding Fathers’ scum. They fought like wildcats. And seeing them— I just couldn’t drive away without helping. And they never stopped trying to repay the favor.”

 _So that’s what pure gratitude looked like_ , she thought.

“I was in the hospital for weeks. Shot here and here.” He pointed at his torso and she winced in sympathy, “I woke up to them holding my hands, Cali was drooling in her sleep and Eva, Eva looked like an angel blessing me.”

 _Why couldn’t he look at me like that?_ She gave him back the photo. “Why did you leave them?”

“I couldn’t stay. They were targets with me around. No one gave a couple of women the credit they deserved, they piled it all up on me. So anyone I was around became a target to hurt me.”

“And would they have hurt you?”

“If anything happened to them, I’d go mad. Fucking crazy. You saw what I did to your safe house. Eva and Cali were never in any danger on Purge Night, I made sure of that. Bought some land with an old bomb shelter on it and learned how to rig a minefield.” He grinned with pride.

President Roan shook her head. “Sometimes you scare me.”

“That’s the plan.” Leo deadpanned, then he laughed. “I have a very specialized skill set, really hard to find a job that doesn’t involve explosives.”

President Roan cupped her drink in her hands, traced the edge of the cut crystal with her thumbs. Finally she said, “It’s hard for me to trust people Leo.”

“No shit.” He put the photo back in his wallet.

She took a deep breath and confessed in a rush, “So forgive me for harboring the hope that you might see me as a woman, rather than an employer.”

His smile was fond, soft and unintentionally cruel. “I see you as a friend and as one of the most incredible women I’ve ever met. My ladies are going to change the world. And I’ve just been lucky to be around to see you making history.”

He took her drink from her and drained it. She raised her eyebrow at him and he shrugged, “And as your friend, I’m telling you that you shouldn’t worry about being seen as a woman for a while.”

She chafed at being told what to do. “Oh really? How long?”

“Until after your second term, I’d think.” He grinned at her and all was forgiven with that smile.

She cupped her face in her hands in weariness and groaned, “That’s a long time for celibacy.”

He took their glassed over to the tray. “You’re a tough cookie. And if I can do it, you can.”

“Would your Eva really mind sharing you?” She looked up at him with hope gleaming soft in her eyes. He swallowed hard and looked at his feet. 

“I think she would.”

“Some women have all the luck.” She sprawled out on the couch, dignity gone with confession and alcohol.

“I’d drive you insane and you know it.”

“I was counting on it.” She looked at her fingernails and frowned.“You know there’s a program for Presidential internships, I get final approval over the candidates. Would be quite the opportunity for a young lady with political ambitions. And I haven’t visited LA for a very long time. Perhaps we could arrange a trip so that I could meet your family? What do you think about that?”

“You amaze me.”

She shrugged and picked at her manicure. “I just want to size up the competition.”

“Liar.” He leaned in close to her as she lay on the couch. She could have kissed him, but instead she poked him in the chest with her finger.

“You deserve to be happy Leo. And if I can’t be the person who warms your heart, then I’ll do anything to make sure the woman who does gets her chance.” He looked at her as if she were made of sunshine and kittens, so she poked him again. “Maybe if you got laid more often you’d relax a bit.” _And stop seeing her as a icon, instead of a woman._

“I wouldn’t count on it.” He smirked, part of his black hair escaping its pomade.

She rolled off the couch and logged on to her computer. A few quick keystrokes to her itinerary and she’d committed. “There. Time to break in the Western White House. Better get started on the security improvements. I expect at least three trapdoors. Try not to make the gardens into a minefield.”

“I’ll do my best.” He paused at the doorway, turned back towards her. “And President Roan?”

Her heart flew up into her throat for a moment in anticipation, “Yes?”

“Get your ass down to the motorcade, I’m taking you home right now because you look like shit.” They stared at each other and finally, she pushed her glasses up her nose in defiance. “I mean, _Charlie_.”

“Better. I’ll be down in a few minutes. I have to find my shoes. And my dignity.”

“Shoes are under the couch. Dignity is like a perfume; those who use it are scarcely conscious of it.”He shut the door behind him.

President Roan ran her fingers over the polished wood of her desk. There was a photograph of her family. They were gone. The family she was born to. Now, now she had the family she made. So far, she’d made some good choices.

She whispered in the silence of the Oval Office, “For family,” then kissed her fingertip and planted it on the photo’s glass.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Leo shrugged out of his suit jacket, then out of his holster harness, hung them up on a chair in his spartan room. He kicked off his shoes, pulled off his socks. He lobbed them at his laundry basket, perfect three point shots. “And the crowd goes wild…” He loosened his tie and took off his shirt. 

When he was in his shorts, he lay back on his bed and flipped open a cheap burner cell phone. He dialed in a number and flopped his arm over his eyes. It had been a very long day. The President— _Charlie_ — was being so odd. Sentimental. She was always focused on her duty, not her feelings. Perhaps it was just the holidays. Maybe he’d fucked up when he volunteered to rub her feet after she was limping from a bad pair of sensible heels. Maybe he’d led her on. She was so important and he wasn’t—

The phone picked up and he said in a husky tone, “So, what are you wearing?”

“Hoodie, jeans and a disturbed expression.” That was not the voice he was expecting to answer the phone.

He mashed his face with his hand and stared up at the popcorn ceiling. “Hi Cali. You’re home early.”

“Hi Leo. I’ll be sure to let the Batphone go to voicemail next time, because _ew._ Yeah, I had all my finals early in the week, so I came home. Mom’s making that casserole that you love, the one with all the peppers.”

“Ah, the old Heartburn Express.” Leo clutched at his chest at the memory. A very tasty way to die. 

“You love it. Did you read that book I sent you?” 

He glanced over at his bedstand. “ _Great Quotes by Great Women_? Yeah. It comes in handy.”

“Lots of pictures and big print for the aging eyes. So are you coming back for Christmas? No pressure, but I’m starting to forget what you look like when you’re not all suited up and on tv.” Her sass took on a yearning tone that made Leo feel guilty. He'd meant to come back earlier, but something always seemed to come up. Oh and he'd gotten _shot_. That kinda took it out of you once the adrenaline wore off and the weeping started. There was no shame in crying after taking a fucking hollowpoint tracer slug in the shoulder. He'd wept with Charlie, after the Purge Mass. Wept with weariness and relief, but most of all with _hope._

He traced the edges of his wounds. The scar tissue often itched under his holster harness. Reminded him not to lose his focus. Or his control. “That’s what I wanted to talk to your mom about.”

“Okay, here she is. I’m going to go meet Jason, talk to you later Leo.” Cali handed over the phone to Eva.

“Jason? Who’s Jason?” Leo demanded. “Does this Jason have a last name?” He heard a door shut in the background.

“Are you going to run a background check on him?” Eva said, her warm voice full of amusement.

“Yes.” Leo said. “Of course I am.” It was the smart thing to do. 

“Good. It’s Prandini. Just between you and me, I don’t trust young men who choose to major in Women’s Studies. Seems fishy.”

“You’re a suspicious lady.” Leo settled back on his bed, nestled the phone against his ear. “I like that.” 

“So you understand why this phone call makes me go _hmmmm_.” It wasn’t their usual routine. He’d call when he got back to his place because of time zones, but never this late. Eva had to get to work early, her new job as an office assistant at a middle school was draining. “But I don’t have work tomorrow so I can take phone calls from strange men with sexy voices.”

“Can’t let your dinner get cold.”

“My spicy casserole never cools down,” she cooed and Leo made himself more comfortable.

“Are we still talking food here, ‘cause I’m getting a little excited.” Leo grinned. He ran his thumb along the elastic of his boxers.

“I don’t know, are we?” _Oh she was in a mood, might as well go for it._

“So what are you wearing?”

“Oh just an apron and a smile. Sitting down on that blue chair in the living room.” It was part of the fantasy, she knew he liked those small details. “Polished my toenails, red for Christmas.”

For a moment, Leo wasn’t thinking about Eva. He shook his head, closed his eyes. “Spread your legs baby. I wanna get between them.”

“That’s why I like your hair long on top.” A small breathy gasp that sent an electric thrill up Leo’s spine. “Gives me a good grip.”

Leo slipped his hand beneath his shorts, he gripped himself and sighed with relief and pleasure, “Might give you beard burn, I’m all scratchy.”

“I’ve been in much more dangerous situations.” Her laugh rolled out and he closed his eyes. Thought about smooth skin against his lips, that perfume that she wore behind her ears.

“I miss you like crazy. I miss the taste of you. Swear to God, I’m going to drown in you.” This wasn’t going to take long, not as long as he wanted to have with her. He was so close already, like a stupid horny teenager on prom night. 

“Seems like a wonderful way to go. But don’t die so soon. I still need, “ She lowered the phone and he could hear the wetness of her fingers. “You,”

He slipped back his foreskin, slick with desire and thrust up against his fist.

“To give me a deep,”

Too hot. Too sweet. 

“Hard,” Leo’s breath caught in his lungs,“ _Fucking.”_ He came in his fingers, grunting loudly so she could hear the pleasure she inspired. He listened to her climactic finish and wiped his hand on his shorts.

“How did I get so lucky?” He murmured in wonder, looking up at the ceiling. 

“You always get so sentimental. Miss our cuddling?” He could almost feel the curve of her hip in the palm of his hand, he'd memorized that, wanted it to be one of his final thoughts if the worst came to pass.  

“Spoon you for hours gorgeous, but we always seem to get right back to fucking.” His eyes were heavy with post-orgasmic fatigue. “I invited a coworker to LA for Christmas.”

“Is his name Jason too?”

“Charlie.”

“I’d like a little more notice before you bring home friends, Leo. The house is a mess! But I guess I can make up the spare bedroom— wait a minute. _Charlie_?”

“Uh huh.”

“You invited the President to come stay at my place!?” Eva shrieked.

Leo wrenched the phone away from his ear. “Was that a bad call?”

“YES! That was a fucking terrible call! OH MY GOD.”

“She wanted to meet you both.”

Leo could hear Eva throwing pillows at the couch. Maybe some heavier things. After a few moments, she took a deep breath and said, “Why didn’t you just buy us plane tickets to DC?”

Leo blinked. “Well my place is pretty tiny—“

“Hotels exist Leo.”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah. They do. Look, it was her idea and I couldn’t say no—“

“Tell her that you want to be sure she stays safe, so you’ll bring us to her. That way you don’t have to turn my place into Fort Knox and she can escape from Cali’s hero worship whenever she wants to! I can’t believe the _President_ wants to meet us. That’s so—“

“Flattering? She doesn’t have anyone she trusts to spend the holidays with but me and I miss you guys too.”

“No fancy state dinners or diplomats? Can’t she stay with the Vice President?”

“They’re not close. You don’t have to come if you don’t—“

“Oh we’re going. You’re getting us tickets and a nice hotel and I’m going to take this out of your skin when I see you in person. If you’re lucky you might survive.”

“I’ll take that risk. Thanks babe. You’re the best.”

“Damn well better believe it. Cannot believe that we’re going to meet the _President_. What do we have to talk about? I guess I can just talk about _you._ ” The mischief in her voice made Leo cringe more than her anger.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Oh, I think I do. Good night Leo. And don’t make us fly coach.”

“Night gorgeous. I wouldn’t dare.” He hung up the phone and sighed on the way to the shower. He itched his bullet wound scars and then scratched his ass, as he turned on the shower.

Eva’s plan was good. Controllable. Not too many variables. He’d talk to the right people in the morning and run it by the President. But Leo had a vague, ominous feeling that he might be using one of his secret exits by the time this visit was over.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Dignity is like a perfume; those who use it are scarcely conscious of it.- attributed to Queen Christina


End file.
